This Eastern Port is Beating Out the West

Savannah was already the fifth-largest seaport according to volume in 2014. But the growth has continued.

ATLANTA—More seaborne-cargo delivers are shifting to the eastern seaboard. According to CBRE Group ‘s second annual North American Seaports and Logistics study, that’s resulting in East and Gulf Cost seaports making gains against competing ports on the West Coast—and Savannah is among the winners. Savannah was already the fifth-largest seaport according to volume in 2014. Since then, a short-term push has driven Savannah’s port infrastructure score upward to hit second place in North America. With Twenty Foot Equivalent (TEU) growth of 11.7% in 2015, the Port of Savannah was the fastest growing port in the US and has become a priority choice for logistics operators due to its proximity to the Atlanta market, according to CBRE. Several major international retailers have integrates the port into their logistics operations. “The Port of Savannah’s success fueled the rapid absorption of our existing industrial space,” Bill Sparks , first vice president at CBRE’s Savannah office , tells GlobeSt.com. “For the first time in many years we have a number of speculative projects under construction to meet demand. There are also a number of build-to-suit projects in process as well.” The Port of Savannah is well positioned to benefit significantly from the Panama Canal expansion, CBRE reports. The port authority has made several investments to secure its keeps growing. In September 2015, for example, dredging of the 38-mile stretch of the Savannah River that leads to the harbor got underway. The Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) will deepen the Savannah River Shipping Channel to a depth of 47 feet from its current 42 feet. The economic benefits of the $700 million project are expected be substantial, according to CBRE, with larger post-Panamax vessels able to call on the harbor with fewer tidal delays. “One of the structural advantages the Port of Savannah promotes is the abundance of inexpensive rail and non-rail served entitled industrial development sites close to the port,” Sparks says. “ Industrial users and owners or developers are attracted to the relatively low occupancy cost and the supply chain efficiencies our port offers.” CBRE attributes part of the renewed momentum for eastern ports to shippers shifting cargo east in response to last year’s labor trouble at primary West Coast ports. Cargo traffic at western ports was slowed for months before the longshoreman unions and port management came to a resolution in March 2015. “Savannah and the Georgia Ports Authority continue to offer an efficient and innovative gateway for trade into the Southeast and beyond,” says Blaine Kelley , senior vice president in CBRE’s global supply chain practice. “Coupled with the dominance of Atlanta as a cost-competitive logistics cluster and distribution point, we expect volume for retail, automotive, and consumer goods to be very strong and to benefit the entire region. Investment in intermodal infrastructure and the Jimmy Deloach extension offer an accelerated ramp to move the products inland to the key population centers.”